Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated at a campaign rally, suspected tackled & arrested
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who served in the post longer than anyone else before stepping down in 2020, was shot and killed at a campaign rally. The wild incident took place this Friday morning with the suspect being tackled and arrested.
Videos obtained by the press show the exact moments Shinzo Abe is shot and killed. Abe is seen standing, holding a microphone, and speaking, when two booming shots ring out, shocking many in Japan, which is one of the world’s safest nations and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere. Photos also captured police taking down the suspected gunman who carried out the horrific attack.
“It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated,” current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the media. The White House also said in a statement it was “shocked and saddened” by the attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Asia for a meeting of Group of 20 foreign ministers, called the assassination “profoundly disturbing” and described Abe as a leader of great vision.
President Biden shared a tweet moments ago reacting to the news. He said, “I am stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot and killed. He was a champion of the friendship between our people. The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief.”
Former U.S. President Barack Obama added, “I am shocked and saddened by the assassination of my friend and longtime partner Shinzo Abe in Japan. Former Prime Minister Abe was devoted to both the country he served and the extraordinary alliance between the United States and Japan. I will always remember the work we did to strengthen our alliance, the moving experience of traveling to Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor together, and the grace he and his wife Akie Abe showed to me and Michelle.” He continued, “Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan who are very much in our thoughts at this painful moment.”
What Do We Know About The Shooter So Far?
NHK quoted the suspected shooter, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, as telling police he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him. The suspect also reportedly told police he had made multiple handmade explosives and guns in the past, NHK noted. Authorities arrested the 41-year-old man shortly after the attack with the weapon that appeared to be a homemade gun.
Other news outlets reported that Abe was taken to hospital in cardiopulmonary arrest and showing no vital signs. He was declared dead at 5:03 p.m. (0803 GMT), having bled to death from deep wounds to the heart and the right side of his neck.
We will continue to keep you updated as this story develops.
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